Super Projection — Updated for 2026–2027
Super Projection Calculator — How Much Super Will You Have?
How much super will you have at retirement? Find out.
Superannuation
Your super today
Use the latest balance shown in your super fund or myGov.
Contributions
Projection settings
Toggle between nominal returns and inflation-adjusted real returns.
Before-inflation growth rate of your super fund.
Used to convert nominal values to today's dollars.
Projection mode
Retirement drawdown
How much you plan to take from super each year once you retire.
Spending power held steady each year, whichever projection mode you view. The balance keeps earning while you draw on it. Set to 0 to skip the estimate.
Reviewed by Ashma Ghimire, ASA, CPA AustraliaLast reviewed 15 May 2026
How the Super Projection Works
Most Australians check their super balance once or twice a year, but rarely project what it will look like at retirement. Small changes compound dramatically over 20–40 years — in the worked example below, an extra 3% salary sacrifice starting at age 25 adds roughly $409,000 by 67. This super projection calculator visualises those compounding effects with a nominal and an inflation-adjusted view of the same inputs, then converts the projected balance into a simple annual drawdown benchmark. It is independent of any fund — there is no join, contribute, or consolidate pitch — and estimates run entirely in your browser.
To model the take-home-pay side of a salary-sacrifice change, use the salary sacrifice super calculator — the super contributions guide covers the caps and tax treatment in detail, and the take-home pay calculator shows what any contribution change means for your regular pay.
Use this calculator when
- You want your projected balance at retirement — nominal and in today's dollars.
- You are weighing a salary-sacrifice percentage and want the long-run difference it makes.
- You need to check contributions against the concessional cap for the selected year.
- You want a simple benchmark for how long the balance could last from retirement to age 90.
How It Works
- Enter your current balance: Use the latest total shown by your super fund or ATO online services.
- Set contribution rates:Add your employer SG rate and any voluntary salary-sacrifice percentage you're making or considering.
- Choose return assumptions: Compare nominal returns (raw percentage) with real returns (adjusted for inflation) to see the difference in purchasing power.
- Review projected balance and drawdown: The chart shows your balance trajectory to retirement, and the drawdown estimate gives a simple annual income benchmark.
Key Concepts
Concessional Cap
The annual limit on tax-deductible (pre-tax) contributions — $32,500 for 2026-27. Includes employer SG plus your salary sacrifice. The cap may differ for other financial years; the calculator adjusts automatically when you switch.
Compound Growth
Returns earned on your balance generate their own returns the following year. In the age-25 example, the same held inputs turn a $15,000 starting balance into $1,893,000 by 67 — and most of that growth arrives in the final third of the timeline, when returns compound on the largest base.
Real vs Nominal Returns
Nominal returns show raw growth. Real returns subtract inflation, showing what the balance can actually buy in today's dollars — a more useful planning lens.
Drawdown Estimate
Divides your projected balance by the years between retirement and age 90. A simple benchmark for annual retirement income, not a pension strategy.
This is a simplified projection, not advice
The model assumes constant salary, contributions and return rates. Market volatility, tax settings, insurance premiums and legislative changes can all materially change the real outcome.
Assumptions This Projection Uses
Every super projection is only as good as its assumptions. This tool keeps them deliberately simple and visible:
| Assumption | How it's handled |
|---|---|
| Salary | Held constant for every projected year — no wage growth or career breaks. A rising income leaves later contributions understated; entering a higher average instead overstates the early ones, since the model credits it from year one. |
| Contributions | Employer rate plus your voluntary percentage of salary, added once a year. Credited net of the 15% contributions tax, so the balance grows on the after-tax amount while the contribution figures shown stay gross. |
| Investment returns | Your chosen rate, applied to the opening balance plus that year's contributions. Balanced fund options have historically averaged around 7–8% a year nominal over long periods; conservative options sit lower, growth options higher. |
| Inflation | Real mode restates the whole projection — contributions as well as returns — in today's purchasing power using 2.5% a year. Because salary is held flat in dollar terms, each later year's contribution buys less. |
| Fees, insurance and earnings tax | Not modelled (the contributions tax above is). Subtract typical fees from your return assumption to approximate them. |
| Concessional cap | Employer plus salary-sacrifice contributions are compared with the selected year's cap ($32,500 for 2026-27) so you can spot likely excess contributions. |
| Drawdown estimate | Projected balance divided by the years between your retirement age and age 90. |
Long-run return and fee context draws on Moneysmart's superannuation calculator guidance and its super contributions reference.
How Long Will Your Super Last?
This page uses a deliberately transparent yardstick: projected balance ÷ years between retirement age and 90. Retiring at 67, a $1,000,000 balance spread across 23 years supports about $43,000 a year; a $700,000 balance supports about $30,000. Both figures sit before Age Pension entitlements and before the returns the remaining balance keeps earning, and equally before inflation, fees, tax, and the order returns arrive in — a neutral yardstick to plan against rather than a forecast of what you could safely draw.
Fund calculators typically merge this decumulation question into a retirement-income product flow. Here it stays explicit: project the balance first, then judge adequacy against ASFA's Retirement Standard budgets for a modest or comfortable retirement, and map your own retirement spending with the budget planner. If the drawdown looks thin, the levers are the ones this page models — contribution rate, time, and the return your option earns — and their invest-outside-super counterpart in the invest vs offset calculator.
Example Projections
Age 25
Starting balance: $15,000
On a $65,000 salary with employer SG only and 7% nominal returns, the projected balance at 67 is roughly $1,893,000. Adding 3% salary sacrifice pushes it to $2,302,000 — a $409,000 difference from one small change made early.
Age 35
Starting balance: $80,000
On a $95,000 salary with SG only, the projected balance at 67 is around $1,840,000 nominal. Switching to real returns shows roughly $835,000in today's dollars — a useful reality check against the headline number.
Age 45
Starting balance: $200,000
On a $110,000 salary with SG only, the projected balance at 67 is about $1,474,000 nominal — the existing balance does most of the heavy lifting with 22 years to run. At this stage, maximising concessional contributions up to the 2026-27 cap of $32,500 is the strongest remaining lever — compare it against paying down debt with the invest vs offset calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the projection assume each year?
Each projected year adds employer and voluntary contributions to the opening balance, then applies your chosen return rate to the combined amount. Contributions are credited after the 15% contributions tax the fund pays, so the balance grows on the after-tax amount even though the contribution figures shown stay gross. Fees, insurance premiums, and tax on investment earnings are not modelled, which makes balances slightly optimistic; subtract typical fees from your return assumption to compensate. Salary is held constant — no wage growth, promotions, or career breaks — so contributions stay flat in dollar terms across every projected year. If your pay rises, the projection understates your later contributions; entering a higher mid-career figure instead overstates the early ones, because the model credits that salary from year one and compounds it for the full period. Neither substitutes for a wage-growth input, so read the balance as a range rather than a point estimate.
How is the drawdown estimate calculated, and how long will my super last?
The drawdown estimate divides your projected retirement balance by the number of years between your retirement age and age 90. Retiring at 67 with $1,000,000 projected, that is $1,000,000 spread across 23 years — about $43,000 a year before any Age Pension entitlement, investment earnings in retirement, or fee drag. The method ignores the returns the remaining balance keeps earning after retirement, which pulls the figure down, but it also ignores inflation, fees, tax, and the order in which returns arrive, which pull the other way — so it is a neutral straight-line benchmark, not a prediction that your money will last longer or run out sooner. Treat it as a planning yardstick rather than a pension strategy: how long your super really lasts depends on market returns, your spending pattern, and any part-time income in early retirement.
Does the calculator check the concessional cap?
Yes. Employer contributions plus voluntary salary-sacrifice amounts are compared with the concessional cap for the selected financial year — $32,500 for 2026-27 — and the results flag when your settings would likely exceed it. Staying inside the cap matters because concessional contributions are taxed at 15% inside the fund, while excess amounts are effectively taxed at your marginal rate once counted in your assessable income. If you have unused cap amounts from recent years and meet the balance test, carry-forward rules may let you contribute above the annual cap without penalty — the superannuation contributions guide covers those rules in detail.
How does salary sacrifice affect the super projection?
Salary sacrifice adds pre-tax contributions on top of the employer Super Guarantee, and the effect compounds for every remaining year to retirement. In the age-25 worked example on this page, sacrificing 3% of a $65,000 salary lifts the projected balance from $1,893,000 to $2,302,000 at 67 — a $409,000 difference from one early change. Sacrificed amounts are taxed at 15% going into the fund instead of at your marginal income-tax rate, which is where the immediate saving comes from. Model the take-home-pay side of the same change with the salary sacrifice super calculator before locking a percentage in.
What is a reasonable return assumption — and should I use nominal or real?
Balanced super fund options have historically returned around 7–8% a year in nominal terms over long periods, per Moneysmart's long-run guidance; conservative options sit lower and growth options higher. After inflation of roughly 2.5–3%, that translates to a real return near 3.9–5.4%. Use nominal mode when comparing against fund statements and headline projections; use real mode for planning, because it shows what the balance actually buys in today's dollars — the more honest lens for a projection running decades into the future. Testing both on the same inputs is the clearest illustration of what inflation does to a retirement balance over 30 or 40 years.
How much super will I have when I retire?
A 30-year-old on $85,000 with a $40,000 balance and employer contributions only projects to roughly $1,976,000 at 67 in nominal terms — about $793,000 in today's dollars — under this tool's long-run return assumption. Your own figure moves with five inputs: current age, current balance, salary, contribution rate, and the return your investment option earns. Contribution rate and time in the market dominate the outcome — starting salary sacrifice a decade earlier routinely beats a larger catch-up later, because compounding works on every subsequent year. Enter your details in the calculator to see your projected balance and its drawdown equivalent side by side.
How much super should I have at my age?
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) publishes age-based balance benchmarks for a comfortable retirement — indicatively $65,000 by age 30, $175,000 by 40, $345,000 by 50, and $520,000 by 60. ASFA revises the figures periodically alongside its Retirement Standard, so treat them as a tracking guide rather than a hard target and check superannuation.asn.au for the current release. Sitting behind the benchmark for your age is common and recoverable — the worked examples on this page show how a small salary-sacrifice percentage compounds into six figures across a working life. Run your own balance through the projection to see where you land against your planned retirement age.
Is $700,000 in super enough to retire?
It depends on how long the money must last and the lifestyle it has to fund — not on a single magic number. Spread across the 23 years from retirement at 67 to age 90, $700,000 supports about $30,000 a year before Age Pension entitlements and before the remaining balance keeps earning returns in retirement. For many households — particularly homeowners — that combination covers a comfortable lifestyle as benchmarked by ASFA's Retirement Standard, and part Age Pension eligibility typically grows as the balance draws down. Whether it is enough for you turns on housing costs, health, whether you retire single or as a couple, and the age you stop working.
Will my super double in 10 years?
At long-run balanced-fund returns, close to it. Using the Rule of 72, a balance earning 7% a year nominal doubles in roughly 10 years, and at 8% in about 9 years — before counting new contributions, which shorten the effective doubling time further. The catch is inflation: in real purchasing-power terms a doubling takes materially longer, since a real return near 3.9–5.4% implies roughly 13 to 19 years. Long-run averages also hide flat stretches, so treat any doubling projection as a range rather than a promise, and rerun the projection in real mode to keep the answer in today's dollars.